Every muscle in my body was exhausted, but I forced myself out of bed, stretching out my stiff muscles before taking a long hot shower to let the water massage away any leftover stiffness. I had just pulled my last boot on when a familiar knock sounded at the door. My lips curled into a smile as I reached the door and opened it. Kian’s smile radiated and my cheeks pulled as I returned the gesture.
“What you got there?” I motioned to his hands.
“Breakfast.” Kian walked past me and sat on the edge of my bed, kicking off his boots and scooting back to lean against the wall. I stared at him as he smoothed out the bedspread and arranged the pillows next to him.
“Come sit with me.” Kian patted the bed next to him and fluffed the pillows. “I figured we could have a private conversation before I deliver you to Mrs. LaMotte.”
I groaned as I crawled next to him. “You got the message too.”
Kian handed me a steaming cup of coffee as he unloaded the bag, placing a cup of yogurt, blueberry muffin, and a banana on a napkin in front of me. “Yes. I know you want to train with the soldiers, but you really should learn all you can about your Talent.”
I nodded as I took a tentative sip of the brew, the flavors awakening my sleep deprived mind.
We ate in companionable silence for a while before curiosity got the best of me. “Why the private breakfast, Kian?”
He sighed and turned toward me, placing his hand on my knee. My heart sped from the light touch. It was the most intimate we had been since the kiss, with the exception of a few hugs here and there. I felt the vibrations of his Talent stirring beneath his flesh for a moment as he gathered his thoughts.
Whatever he has to say must be important.
“I’m sorry.”
His confession stunned me and for a moment, I lost the ability to speak. Kian was a proud man and had a hard time admitting faults. “About?” I hoped it was for yesterday morning.
“So many things, but this apology is for yesterday.” My shoulders slumped in relief. I wanted to accept his apology and move on, but he kept talking. “We’re both under stress and right now neither of us are in a good place to start a serious relationship. Don’t get me wrong. I want to, so bad that it’s killing me to say this.”
My heart hammered in my chest. This conversation was not going where I had thought it would.
“Why?” I asked. “I meant what I said yesterday. I care about you and need you in my life, especially since I’m so alone here.”
Kian looked me in the eye, fierce determination shining in his. “I am not leaving you, Sadie. That will not happen.”
“Why are you here, Kian? Why help me at all?” My voice cracked as I finally gave voice to the questions that had nagged me since the moment he told me who my father was.
“When you first slammed into me at that party, I felt something stir inside of me. It scared and excited me at the same time. At first, I thought it was because you were a mystery, but once I figured out who you were and would you would be up against, I had to help. Here. Now we can right wrongs and hopefully my soul will finally feel cleansed. But most, I’m here because I want to explore this connection we have.”
I nodded and adverted my eyes; his intensity was overwhelming.
“Sadie, look at me.” I returned my gaze and his eyes had softened. “I know you meant what you said, but you have to see the last few weeks from my eyes. You’ve changed since Michael and it’s not all for the better. We can’t jump into a relationship only because we have chemistry.”
He ran a finger across my jaw, stopping at my chin. His fingers took hold and lifted until my neck was fully extended. My breath hitched as his eyes zeroed in on my lips, and I licked them under his intense scrutiny.
My breath was raspy when I spoke. “What do you want?”
“Let’s get to know each other. I’ve been around you long enough to know you are what I want, but I want us to be able to talk instead of fight. I want us to know everything about each other. I want mutual respect and unconditional trust and eventual love.”
I closed my eyes and thought about what he had said. As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. We needed to know each other better. If we kept going like this, it wouldn’t be long until we would no longer even be friends and rule out anything romantic. I could see how my anger and bitterness toward my grandfather had put a wedge between us.
Did I want Kian?
YES.
There was no doubt in my mind that I would be willing to try almost anything for us to stay together. Being friends first worked for Liam and me, but the heat between the two of us was intense. He had given me a taste in that alleyway and a huge part of me was loath to wait. I opened my eyes and Kian was still looking at me, waiting with never-ending patience for my reply. His hand had worked its way from my chin down to my neck during my internal debate, the other hand joining on the opposite side.
“So you want to date?” I whispered and then quickly added, “Exclusively?”
His voice hoarse with need, Kian said, “Yes.”
“I can do that.”
Kian’s lips crashed into mine and the world fell away. There was nothing but the two of us in this moment and I felt alive. Happy. I returned the kiss with all the fervor and pent up longing of the past few weeks. My fingers raked through his soft hair before one hand cupped his nape and the other gripped his shoulder, pulling him closer. Wanting. Needing to feel every inch of his body against mine. Kian’s desire matched mine and his kisses became almost punishing as he devoured my mouth. I returned his kiss with equal passion.
Ringing from across the room brought me back to reality. It was time to head to training. Kian’s lips were a breath away from mine as we both smiled. “Looks like it’s time to go.” With each word, his lips brushed against my swollen ones and sent shivers down my spine.
“Yeah, but for the first time since we arrived, I kinda want to hang out in my room.”
Kian laughed as he turned to step off the bed, grabbing my hand and pulling to help me stand in the process. “Mrs. LaMotte would beat your door down if you tried.”
“You’re right.” I sighed as I gathered the trash from our breakfast while Kian put on his boots and straightened the bedspread back to the required hospital corners.
He reached out for my hand and I grabbed hold, our fingers intertwining. With my free hand, I turned off the lights and set my console to away. As we stepped into the hall, I turned to Kian.
“So, what do you want to talk about first?”
Chapter 10
Kian and I had spent all of our free time together since morning, which wasn’t much since the past week most of my time had consisted of Talent training. Mrs. LaMotte ran me ragged trying define the limits of my Talent and to push past its boundaries. It was a difficult task since she was hard pressed to find volunteers. Nobody was eager to find out what would happen if I fully drained someone.
Mrs. LaMotte theorized that the Caelian would die, but she was determined to prove that my Talent was more than a tool for death and destruction.
“Come on, Sadie. Get up and let’s try again. Your friend will be here soon,” Mrs. LaMotte demanded from across the sparring circle. She had exchanged her usual prim attire for the black cargo pants and white t-shirt uniform of the Underground. Her plum hair was pulled into a severe bun at the nape of her neck, but after two rounds with me, wisps of hair loosened and framed her heart-shaped face.
From my crouched position, I glared at her through my own loosened hair, the white strands shining bright in the fluorescent lighting.
“Give me a minute to breathe.”
“In a fight, your enemy will not allow you a minute to breathe.” Mrs. LaMotte huffed and returned my glare with a vengeance. “The point of this drill is not to fight, but for you to drain me until I’m weakened. Yet you haven’t been able to get a proper hold.”
“I know. I’m trying.”
“Stop trying and do it!”
I s
tood on shaking legs and walked back to the circle. Mrs. LaMotte wasted no time coming after me, her hands crackling with energy. My stomach clenched as I warily watched to see what her move would be. I had been feeling the electricity of her Talent all morning and even though she had turned down the intensity, it still hurt.
Mrs. LaMotte lunged at my throat in a move she had used earlier, but I knew it was a fake-out, so I was able to dodge the move effortlessly. I wasn’t prepared though for her to swipe my legs out from underneath me. She shoved both hands into my stomach. Electricity surged through my body and my limbs shook involuntarily. Her hands were gone soon after she placed them, but my muscles didn’t get the memo until a few seconds later.
“Again,” Mrs. LaMotte demanded, while sweeping stray hairs out of her eyes.
A deep growl escaped my throat. I had had enough. Anger blurred my vision, but it didn’t stop me from circling Mrs. LaMotte as a predator would its prey. I wouldn’t be going down this time. She lunged at me again, but this time, I was able to grab her arm and throw her over my hip. Mrs. LaMotte’s back hit the mat with a loud ‘thump’. She lay there for only a second, trying to suck in air, before I grabbed her forearms and began pulling her Talent into me.
My mind swam from the increase in power as her Talent’s energy flowed alongside my own, reaching every cell in my body. The feeling was heady and amazing and wrong all at the same time. Mrs. LaMotte moaned, pulling me from the trance. Her hair was fading into a pale lavender. My Talent had latched on to hers and it didn’t want to let go. Sweat poured from my brow as I reached into the depth of my soul and forced my energy to release hers.
The break was so sudden, I threw myself off Mrs. LaMotte and scooted away from her on my behind, curling my arms around my knees, rocking back and forth. Mrs. LaMotte’s chest was still moving, so I knew I hadn’t killed her, but she lay unnaturally still. Her hair was the palest periwinkle streaked with white, evidence of just how close I had come to completely draining my mentor.
Tears pricked my eyes and I furiously rubbed them with the palms of my hands, trying to force the tears back in, but they fell anyway. My body shook from the over-abundance of power flowing through me and I didn’t know what to do with it. Last time I had drained someone, I was passed out for hours afterwards. My throat began to hitch with each breath. Giving up, I hugged my legs tighter as I let the tears fall at will. Stupid woman. I told her not to let me do this, but she was insistent. Now look at what I’ve done.
A faint cough pulled me from my self-loathing. Pale apricot eyes full of pain were focused on me, but Mrs. LaMotte’s mouth was pulled into a grin. “Come here,” she whispered, her hand reaching out to me.
I crawled back to her, triple checking that my Talent was secure behind its prison in my chest. “How do you feel? Should I call the medics?”
Mrs. LaMotte sighed. “No. I don’t want McCredie to know just yet.”
“He doesn’t know what we’re doing here?”
She struggled to sit up, her arms shaking hard under the stress of her weight before they gave out. “Will you?” She waved her hand, indicating I should help. I jumped from my seated position and walked behind her, looking at my hands and trying to force the vibrations from Mrs. LaMotte’s stolen Talent away.
“Ready?” I asked, as I slid my hands under her arms. She nodded in response. I heaved her body from prone to seated, waiting behind her and keeping a firm grip on her arms before she indicated that she was okay for me to release her.
I sat next to her so that we were facing each other. Her eyes were closed and I took the opportunity to study her. Mrs. LaMotte looked exhausted, but in much better shape than Jesse did 24 hours after I drained him and I hadn’t taken as much from him. Mrs. LaMotte must be really strong to be sitting there so soon after being drained to almost empty. Who is she? Why has she taken interest in my life?
Before overhearing her and Kian talk last week, I had never asked myself those questions, but they had been coming to mind often since that morning.
“McCredie knows that I’m trying to push the limits of your Talent, but he doesn’t know that I am trying to prove your Talent goes beyond draining.”
“Oh,” was all I could think to say.
“How do you feel?”
“Better than you look.” I forced my gaze away from her washed out features and focused it on my shaking hands.
“Funny,” Mrs. LaMotte deadpanned. “But I want to know what is going on inside.” She reached out and placed her hand on my heart. Her eyes widened as she felt the rapid fluttering of my heart. Her eyes narrowed into slits as she began to study me in earnest. Nothing went unnoticed, from my shaking to the sweat beading at my temples.
“Tell me.”
“It feels like I am over-full. As soon as I disconnected from you, I locked away my Talent, but yours is still here, buzzing under my skin. It feels like it’s trying to get out of me.” I paused to look at Mrs. LaMotte. The color was coming back to her skin as she pursed her lips in thought. “When I drained Jesse, I was asleep for hours afterwards, I don’t remember feeling like this.”
“You hardly drained Jesse, but right now you’re holding the majority of a grown, well-trained Caelian’s Talent.”
My entire body began to seize in earnest and my jaw clenched painfully as I struggled to gain control of my body. It was all in vain. The door to the training room swished open as Kian and Luca walked in. I had forgotten all about our plans for this afternoon. Their eyes widened as they took in the scene of Mrs. LaMotte in her weakened state, attempting to hold my flailing arms down against my torso and failing miserably.
Pain bloomed from my cheek as my own curled hand struck it with a strength I didn’t know I possessed.
“What the fff…” Luca started before both men ran toward me. Kian straddled my hips, squeezing my legs between his and holding my arms against my torso. I felt the exact moment he accessed his Talent when the vibrations rolled over my heightened senses. My body continued to buck underneath him, but not as aggressively as before, while Luca lifted my head and placed it in his lap, smoothing the plum wisps of hair out of my eyes.
Kian’s eyes narrowed at my hair before he whipped his head to Mrs. LaMotte, who sat panting next to my struggling body. “What did you do?”
“We had to see what she could do,” Mrs. LaMotte replied coolly. “I for one don’t want her unprepared in a fight.”
“Shit,” Luca whispered, wiping the tears that leaked from the corners of my eyes as I struggled with the pain writhing through my body.
Kian roared and the power of his Talent slapped against me, causing another strong fit of seizures.
“Chill with your Talent. I think it makes it worse,” Luca spoke up.
“What is wrong with her?” Kian asked through clenched teeth.
“Her body is hosting two Talents and it is overwhelmed. She needs to release the extra energy.”
“How does she do that?” Luca asked while Kian growled with reserved anger.
“I have no clue, but she will need to figure it out.” Although my body was out of my control, my mind was still sharp and I knew Mrs. LaMotte was correct. I had to find a way to release this energy before I injured myself further.
The extra Talent sizzled and pressed against my skin, but my body wouldn’t release it. A primal part of my mind suggested releasing my own Talent to see what would happen, but the thought of having two Talents freely move through my body filled me with fear.
I tried everything from pushing at the intruding Talent to balling it up and trapping behind a different door, but nothing worked. Exhausted and sore from the seizures, I gave up and released my Talent from behind its mental prison. It flared to life and spread throughout my body, covering the invading Talent and corralling it toward my hands.
Understanding dawned. The more my Talent controlled the other, the less my body shook. In time, my jaw loosened. I knew what I had to do.
The others took notice of my control
returning. Kian released his hold, but didn’t remove his hands from my arms when I tried pulling away.
“She’s getting better.” His statement came out sounding like a question.
“Is she absorbing it?” Luca asked.
“I don’t think so,” Mrs. LaMotte answered. “Look—she’s trying to pull her hands away from you, Kian. Let her go.”
“No. Look at her face. I don’t want her to hurt herself again.”
I knew that he wouldn’t move unless I told him to, but my voice didn’t want to work. Kian was looking at me and I tried to communicate with my eyes, but he didn’t budge. I started forcing my mouth to move and push out any sound whatsoever, but all that came out was a strangled wheeze.
“Kian, I think the lady’s right.” Luca reached out to Kian and grabbed his shoulder. “Look at Sadie, she’s trying to tell you something. If she starts hurting herself again, we’ll stop her.”
Kian looked at me and I could see the fight behind his eyes. I closed my eyes and pulled from a reservoir of internal strength I didn’t know existed.
“Move.” The word was just above a whisper, but Kian heard me loud and clear. Both men let go of me and backed away as I placed my hands onto the ground and pushed the foreign Talent out of my body. The force was so intense, my back bowed off the ground and a scream erupted from my throat, but my hands never disconnected from the floor.
It was over. My Talent vibrations slowed underneath my skin in a soothing caress as the rest of my body slumped to the ground, no longer shaking. Arms snaked underneath my body and lifted me onto a lap. I recognize Kian’s cologne and pressed my face against his neck, taking the comfort he was offering.
One hand rubbed my back while the other gripped my waist in a firm, but not uncomfortable hold.
“Sadie. Say something, sugar.” Kian’s voice was pleading.
The Caelian Cycle Boxed Set Page 20
